The John Wooden dream team

John Wooden was such a unique leader of athletes, the Pittsburgh Pirates once crossed sporting boundaries and offered him a job as their manager.

Yet along with Wooden's wizardry and his Pyramid of Success, he had another asset: great players.

In this slideshow, we present Wooden's best players.

Pictured: Wooden in his Encino home in 2002. MIKE KITADA, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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THIRD TEAM - F Dave Meyers: A tough, versatile competitor, Meyers was one of three permanent captains Wooden named. He might have been the best player on the 1974-75 team, a group lacking star power. TEXT BY MARK SAXON, FILE PHOTO

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THIRD TEAM - F Gary Cunningham: He joined the team as a skinny kid with a smooth shot and became co-captain in 1962. Later, he became the freshman coach at UCLA and served under Wooden as an assistant for 10 seasons. TEXT BY MARK SAXON, FILE PHOTO

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THIRD TEAM - G Lucius Allen: He came in with Alcindor along with two other high-school All-Americans, Lynn Shackelford and Kenny Heitz. In 1968, Allen earned NCAA All-American notice. TEXT BY MARK SAXON, FILE PHOTO

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THIRD TEAM - F John Moore: The Bruins still played in a tiny gym when Moore was playing back in the mid-1950s, but he helped usher in a golden age. TEXT BY MARK SAXON, FILE PHOTO

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THIRD TEAM - G John Green: As the Wooden era dawned, he was the sharp shooter who took all of those Hazzard passes and turned them into points. He was All-American in 1962. TEXT BY MARK SAXON, FILE PHOTO

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SECOND TEAM - C Willie Naulls: He was Wooden's first great center, back in the 1950s, a time when African-American stars still were not prominent in college basketball. He credits Wooden with increasing diversity in Westwood at a time when it was not a popular practice, even in L.A. TEXT BY MARK SAXON, FILE PHOTO

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SECOND TEAM - F Marques Johnson: Some people don't realize he played under Wooden. He was the Wizard's last star. As a sophomore, he led the Bruins to Wooden's 10th title. Later, playing under Gene Bartow, Johnson won the first John R. Wooden Award, the prize for the nation's top player. TEXT BY MARK SAXON, FILE PHOTO

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The John Wooden dream team SECOND TEAM - G Mike Warren: Wooden called Warren, right, "as smart a basketball player as I've ever had." He was the backcourt leader of those Alcindor teams, gaining All-America status in 1968. TEXT BY MARK SAXON, FILE PHOTO

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SECOND TEAM - F Keith Wilkes: Call him Keith or call him Jamaal, but either way he was going to burn you in the paint. Teaming him with Walton was unfair. The tandem might have been the best one-two punch in the Wooden era, together for three dominating years. TEXT BY MARK SAXON, FILE PHOTO

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FIRST TEAM - G Gail Goodrich: A pioneer of the Wooden Way, No. 25 led the Bruins in scoring for Wooden's first two national champs. In 1965, he averaged 24.8 points per game and teamed with Hazzard to provide one of the best backcourts in college history. TEXT BY MARK SAXON, FILE PHOTO

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SECOND TEAM - G Henry Bibby: After Alcindor turned pro, Bibby was among the group that proved UCLA could keep on winning. He came all the way from North Carolina to play for Wooden, earning All-America honors in 1972. Some people considered him a traitor when he later coached USC. TEXT BY MARK SAXON, FILE PHOTO

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FIRST TEAM - F Sidney Wicks: He was the National Player of the Year as a junior in 1971, then returned to increase his scoring (21.3 ppg) and rebounding (12.7) averages the next year. The Bruins won their fifth national title in a row during his senior year. It?s almost unfathomable nowadays. TEXT BY MARK SAXON, FILE PHOTO

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FIRST TEAM - G Walt Hazzard: He was a senior co-captain in 1964 when the Bruins won their first NCAA title after going 30-0. He ended his college career as the Bruins' all-time leading scorer with 1,401 points and later served as a Bruins head coach. TEXT BY MARK SAXON, FILE PHOTO

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FIRST TEAM - F Bill Walton: He's now known for his blunt, basso-profundo pronouncements of the NBA game, but he was a revelation in college. Nobody rebounded and sparked a fast break with such skill. He and Alcindor had their numbers retired at halftime of the 1990 game against DePaul, UCLA's opponent Saturday in Anaheim. TEXT BY MARK SAXON, FILE PHOTO

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FIRST TEAM - C Lew Alcindor: Aside from leading the Bruins to three straight NCAA titles and an 88-2 record, he had an unparalleled mystique. When UCLA traveled to play at Houston, a local sports columnist, Mickey Herskowitz, said, "They were surprised to find out that he had two arms, two legs and lived out of the water. TEXT BY MARK SAXON, FILE PHOTO

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